Happy New Year!!! It is time for a fresh start!! I have just the thing for you "Take Me Deeper-DNA." Do you want to know what your identity is in Christ? We are going to explore this topic throughout the entire 2016 year.
Starting today we are offering Bi-weekly devotions written by some amazing Christian women and artists. We will read the devotion, see a worship video and then have the whole week to interpret what we have learned through art. Any type of art you like: Art Journaling, Bible Journaling, Crafts, Watercolor, Abstract, Digital etc. Just worship Him through whatever medium you would like. Don't do the whole art thing? That is fine too, just read the devotions and do a Bible Study in a lined notebook; there is something here for everyone!! And everyone is welcomed!!
But that isn't all!!! I said the devotions are "bi-weekly" so what happens in the "off" weeks? Well, we have plans for those weeks as well. To continue with the "DNA" theme we are going to explore "I am" statements (I am forgiven, I am chosen, I am blessed to be a blessing etc.). These weeks we will have a "Featured" artist share an art technique based on these I am statements. We have some fabulous artists lined up for that!!
The devotions and art techniques can be found in a private group here. The first devotion has already been posted! I hope you are able to join us!!
Just a quick Process video to share. This page is from Mark 13 where Jesus talks about not knowing the day or the hour of His second Coming. I wrote an Advent devotion about this topic:
Mark 13:33-37
“Take heed;keep
on the alert; for you do not know when the appointedtime will come.It
islike a man away on a journey, whoupon leaving his house andputting
his slaves in charge, assigningto
each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.Therefore,be
on the alert—for you do not know when themaster
of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, orwhen
the rooster crows, orin the morning—in case he should come suddenly and find
youasleep.What I say to you I say to
all, ‘Be on the alert!’”
It amazes me how fast the time goes by during the Christmas
season. Even though retail stores set up holiday displays months in advance, it
still seems to go by in a blink. This year I was brought into the realm of this
reality while browsing Facebook. I see a photo of “Buddy” from the movie “Elf”
and below it says the words: “Only 6 more Fridays until Christmas!” I
immediately snap out of my internet haze and say out loud: “What? That soon? I
better get busy.” And so the preparations will begin: Christmas decorating,
baking, shopping, school events, church events and the list goes on. I am
actively preparing to make Christmas memorable for my family. And so the time
passes very quickly. For my son, Jordan on the other hand, the time between now
and Christmas seems like an eternity. He
is involved with some of the Christmas time activities, but for the most part,
he is passively waiting. When you are
passively waiting, the time can drag on.
As Christians, Advent is the time of year we give thanks for the
birth of our savior Jesus and anticipate His second coming. Unlike Christmas,
we have no “Buddy the Elf” to remind us how many “Fridays” there are before
Jesus returns. In our passage today, Jesus says: “Therefore be on alert, for
you do not know which day the Master is coming.” (NASB) We wait for our Lord to
come, but are we actively waiting or passively waiting?
Even through the Christmas hustle and bustle, we should make it a
priority to “actively” wait for Jesus or like my Pastor likes to say: “Get
ready, to BE ready.” If you haven’t been “getting ready to BE ready”, Advent
season is a perfect time to start. But what does it look like to “actively”
wait for Him?
1.Spend time with God by reading His Word.
2.Pray and listen to Him.
3.Worship and Praise Him.
4.Love and serve Him.
5.Share His love with others.
The sense of urgency I feel when “Buddy the Elf” reminds me that
Christmas is just around the corner is the same feeling I desire to have waiting
for Jesus to return. When He does come back, He will want to know what kind of
Christian I have been. He will not only want to know if I had faith and trust
in Him, but what was the evidence of that faith?
So, as we begin this Christmas season, let us be reminded that the
great reward of eternal life with Jesus will far surpass the most grandiose and
well-prepared Christmas morning.
Last year was our first year of Take Me Deeper and we had such a fun time going "deeper" in God's word each week, we decided to do it again this year!!
I would love to invite any of my friends and family to come and join us at His Kingdom Come for our 2016 Year long project -- Take Me Deeper DNA.... a look at "Who I am in Christ." Does the enemy ever lie to you? Of course he does, he always does! Does he try to convince you that you don't count? That Jesus can't possibly love you, that He forgives everyone else, but just forget about THAT sin .... and on and on and on? You've heard that tape play in your head, right? Okay, so it's time to learn the truth....learn who you REALLY are in Christ according to what the Truth of God's Word says! There will be devotional studies provided bi-weekly and then on the "off week" you'll receive information for a creative prompt to remind you and really bring to heart what you studied. The cost for all this? FREE! The results? You will go deeper in your walk with the Lord! Click here to join this wonderful year-long study starting Friday, January 1, 2016. Note: You must become a member of the His Kingdom Come community in order to join the Take Me Deeper-DNA Group; don't worry though, it is quick, free and easy!! Here is some of the artwork I created from last year's Take Me Deeper project.
I have been participating in His Kingdom Come's Advent and today I was blessed to be able to write the devotion. You can read it here. We are also responding creatively to the devotions so I thought I would share the first 4 days of my artwork.
